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| Geoffrey Sumner, Robert Coote, Wilfred Hyde-White. |
THE JOCKEY CLUB
STAKES [Comedy/British/Sports] A: William Douglas Home; D: Cyril Ritchard;
S/L: Paul Morrison; C: Albert Wolsky; P: Roger L. Stevens and J. Charles Gilbert i/a/w Moe Septee; T: Cort Theatre; 1/24/73-3/24/73 (69)
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| Carolyn Lagerfelt, Lee Richardson, Thayer David. |
An inconsequential bit of old-fashioned fluff that was a
West End hit, but ran in New York for only two months. No one took the comic
plot seriously, its only justification being to give three distinguished old
British actors an opportunity to strut their impeccable timing and other comedic
skills before an audience seeking a few painless laughs.
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| Wilfred Hyde-White, Philip Kerr, Carolyn Lagerfelt. |
Wilfred Hyde-White, Geoffrey Sumner, and Robert Cooke played
the aristocratic members of a board of inquiry established by the Jockey Club
to find out the facts behind a case of race fixing in which a horse that has
lost two races suddenly wins in a third by ten lengths. They discover that the
gambler responsible for these maneuvers is the respectable wife of one of these
high-toned officials. The remainder of the plot is concerned with keeping the
affair from being exposed by those who wish to do so. All the characters are
seen as charmingly venal and corrupt.
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| Dillon Evan, Enid Rodgers, Lee Richardson, Thayer David, Geoffrey Sumner, Wilfred Hyde-White, Robert Coote. |
Richard Watts summed up the attitude of the majority of
amused critics: “I don’t think you will be worried by the defeat of justice.
They are such an endearing trio of rogues.” John Simon, however, was enraged at
the play’s cynicism and inveighed against “its moral noxiousness.” Several others
sneered at the inanity of the comedy, but the superlative performances
convinced even those dissenters that audiences would get something worth their
money.
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| Geoffrey Sumner, Joan Bassie. |
Wilfred Hyde-White was nominated for a Tony as Best Actor, Play.
